Pathfinder - Occultist Implement Schools Breakdown

Last Updated: December 6th, 2017

Disclaimer

I will use content from the core rules, but will intentionally omit any content not published
on the official Pathfinder SRD due to the
unmanageable volume of non-SRD content, and the wildly varying quality of non-SRD content.
If you would like me to write handbooks for specific content not published on the official
SRD, please email me and I will consider it on a case-by-case
basis. I will use the color coding scheme which has become common among Pathfinder build
handbooks. Also note that many colored items are also links to the Paizo SRD.

Red: Bad, useless options, or options which are extremely situational.

Orange: OK options, or useful options that only apply in rare circumstances

Green: Good options.

Blue: Fantastic options, often essential to the function of your character.

Temporary Note: Pathfinder Unchained and Occult Adventures were
both recently added to the SRD. I'm excited to explore them, and I am actively working
on adding their contents to my collection of handbooks. I appreciate your patience while
I make these changes.

Implement Schools

An occultist's choice of implements is the most important class decision that they
make. Implements grant an item buff ("Resonant Power"), a base focus power, access to
a unique list of focus powers, and a spell of every level which the occultist can
cast. Occult Adventures presents 8 implement schools, and since Occultists get just
7 choices you will need to omit at least one, and you'll omit more of you choose to
re-select the same implement school to get another set of spells from that school.

When selecting implement schools remember that the only focus powers you are forced
to take are the "base" focus powers. It's perfectly fine to pick up a school for the
resonant power, base focus power, and spells but never pick up any of the focus powers.

The specific implements for each implement school are intentionally not addressed
below. The specific form of the implement generally doesn't matter. Each school allows
enough options that you shouldn't have any conflicts. If your GM is a stickler, you
can select the items that aren't normal equipment and just hang them all from your
character's body on strings and walk around like a set of magical wind chimes.

Abjuration Implements

As you might expect, Abjuration centers on defensive options. All of the powers
presented by the Abjuration Implements School can generally be handled with other
means, many of which are already easily accessible to the Occultist. However, some
of the better options also trigger on an Immediate action, allowing you to call up
defenses quickly without cutting into your turn significantly.

Resonant Power: Warding Talisman (Su): A resistance
bonus is an absolute essential in Pathfinder. You want it to be as big as possible
as quickly as possible. That said, it's also one of the cheaper bonuses to put on a
magic item.

Base Focus Power: Mind Barrier (Sp): The swift action
option is essentially useless unless you're taking ongoing damage or intend to walk
into a damaging effect, but the immediate action option can prevent quite a bit of
damage. The damage prevented scales with level, but the focus cost never increases
so this ability remains useful as you gain levels. This really helps compensate for
the Occultist's d8 hit dice.

Focus Powers: : A few decent defensive options, but
nothing that you absolutely need.

Aegis (Su): It's pretty rare that you need to
switch out armor abilities, and armor/shield bonuses are among the least useful
AC bonuses.

Energy Shield (Sp): Activating this as a swift
action means that you activate and re-activate it without meainingfully cutting
into your turn. The ability to activate it as an immediate actions means that
you can protect yourself from unexpected energy attacks and traps.

Globe of Negation (Sp): This is a fantastic defensive
option, but it's also situational. If you fight a lot of spellcasters you're
a fool not to consider this.

Loci Sentry (Sp): Very situational.

Planar Ward (Sp): Situational. The Occultist's
Magic Circles ability will generally be more effective, especially once you can
create circles as a full round action.

Unraveling (Sp): If no one else in your party can
cast Dispel Magic, this is absolutely essential. The range is a bit of an issue,
and you can't dispel multiple effects, but generally when you need dispel magic
the most its to remove on specific, pesky effect. For just 1 focus point it's a
good trade.

Conjuration Implements

Extremely few useful options. For some reason the conjuration school tries to turn
the Occultist into a healer, but it doesn't do a particularly good job.

Base Focus Power: (Sp): Most of the time when people
cast Summon Monster it's to get one creature, and the one-minute duration is great at
levels 1 through 10. Unfortunately, the level of creatures you can summon doesn't
scale at full speel. Wen you can pick up the Shadow Beasts power it will be
immediately more useful and versatile.

Focus Powers: : Very few worthwile options.

Conjure Implement (Sp): Very situational. If you're
in a situation where you lost your implements you probably lose the one you need
to use this.

Flesh Mend (Sp): A great way to burn your remaining
focus points at the end of the day, but during the day you're better off with a
wand of cure light wounds.

Mind Steed (Sp): Mount is on the occultist spell
list, and reducing the effects duration to minutes pet level when you add flight
makes this extremely frustrating.

Psychic Fog (Sp): Fog Cloud is a great way to get
out of a bad situation, but it's a 1st-level spell which you could easily produce
with a scroll. The solid fog option is much better, especially since you can move
through it freely since Occultists cast psychichs spells.

Purge Corruption (Sp): Situational. Use the Heal
skill and antitoxins for poisons, and for diseases you generally have time to go
find a cleric.

Side Step (Sp): Similar to dimension door as a move
action, this is a fantastic way to get around in combat.

Divination Implements

The Divination Implements School is insanely useful. It provides scouting,
information gathering, a flexible check bonus from Sudden Insight, and access to
special senses which normally require high-level spells to access.

Resonant Power: Third Eye (Su): The Perception bonus is
a nice distraction, but the real value is the improved senses which you gain. The cost
to get them is frustratingly high, but access to constant See Invisibility is a huge
benefit, and Blindsense and Blindsight are extremely powerful.

Base Focus Power: Sudden Insight (Sp): An easily accessible
scaling insight bonus on a wide variety of checks for just 1 focus. At low levels the
bonus won't be significant, but as you increase in level the cost will become relatively
cheap and the bonus will scale considerably.

Focus Powers: : A couple of really fantastic gems, but
most of the options are redundant or too situational to justify.

Danger Sight (Sp): If you also have the Abjuration
Implements school, this will conflict somewhat with Mind Barrier. However, as you
gain levels this may become a better option. Improving your AC may entirely negate
a source of damage, while Mind Barrier may only reduce it. Danger Sight also provides
a fantastic saving throw bonus which will be especially crucial at high levels
when you're facing save-or-die effects.

Future Gaze (Sp): Augury is a great spell, and I
strongly encourage you to learn it as one of the spells you gain from selecting
Divinaton Implements instead of taking this ability. Future Gaze allows you to
spend your focus points instead of spell slots, and ignores the focus and material
components, so it saves you a bit of gold. Of course, 25gp becomes neglibible very
early in the game, and your focus points are far too valuable to waste on this
ability. The effects never scale or improve, so this power will quickly become
irrelevant.

Mind Eye (Sp): At fine size, the eye is small
enough to fly under doors, through keyholes, and possible through small cracks in
walls and other barriers. Use the eye to safely scout potentially dangerous areas
like dungeons. Be sure to invest enough focus in Third Eye to pick up at least
Darkvision so that you can send the eye into dark places. This may not seem
particularly exciting, but for a single point of focus and a few minute of
concentration you can scout huge areas completely undetected. This is the
equivalent of the Arcane Eye spell (if not a little better), a 4th-level spell
and easily one of my favorite divination spells for how much information you can
gather with a single casting. At just 1 point of focus per use it's a fantastic
deal at any level.

Object Seer (Sp): Situational, and overlaps quite
a bit with the Object Reading ability which Occultists get for free.

Powerful Connection (Su): Situational. Not many
divinations require a saving throw from a potential target, and the ones which do
don't get used a lot.

Watchful Eye (Sp): Situational. Adventurers
typically don't spend a lot of time staking out a location.

Enchantment Implements

Enchantment provides some of the only save-or-suck options available to the
Occultist, but many of the abilities have level requirements, so you may want to wait
to pick up Enchantment until at least level 6.

Resonant Power: Glorious Presence (Su): The Occultist
really isn't much of a Face. They get Diplomacy as a class skill, but not Bluff or
Intimidate. You can pick up Bluff and Intimidate from traits, but there are better
options for a class which depends so heavily on Intelligence. UMD is a tempting option
with this bonus, but the Pragmatic Activator trait will likely produce better results.
If you really need to get some diplomacy done, charge this up at the beginning of the
day and pass it off to your party's Face.

Base Focus Power: Cloud Mind (Su): Most foes of your CR
will have more hite dice than you have Occultist levels, so you won't get to stun foes
often unless they're in an encounter featuring multiple enemies. Staggering a foe is
nice, but only matters if they depend on full-round actions like full attack. The fact
that targets become immune after being affected once is disappointing.

Focus Powers: :

Blinding Pattern (Sp): Like Hold Monster, but the
DC scales with your Occultist level. Hold Monster is one of the best single-target
save or suck effects in the game, and even if you can only paralyze the creature
for a round or two that's typically enough to win a fight outright. Absolutely worth
the focus point cost.

Forced Alliance (Sp): I'm on the fence on this one.
If you call the creature to aid you directly, this is a lot like Dominate Monster.
If you don't, it's Charm Monster with a really short duration. The phrase "aid you
directly" is somewhat vague, and it's unclear if you can use this to force enemies
to fight for you.

Mind Slumber (Sp): This conflicts a bit with Blinding
Pattern. Blinding Pattern is a better way to kill something, but since it allows
saves every round the duration can expire very quickly. Mind Slumber will
remove a creature from a fight much longer, which is great if you need to disable
a foe which you can't immediately reach to coup de grace.

Obey (Sp): Command is a 1st-level spell. You can do
much better.

Evocation Implements

Occultists are not blasters by any means. Their offensive spell options are pitifully
slim, and with only 2/3 spellcasting they don't get the high level spells that evokers
need to remain viable in a game where dealing damage is already one of the least
effective ways to play a spellcaster. Still, Energy Ray is the Occultist's only
meaningful offensive option without a daily usage limitation. Its damage will quickly
outstrip what the occultist could do with a weapon, and the reliability of a ranged
touch attack can't be ignored.

Resonant Power: Intense Focus (Su): The payoff isn't
great, and Occultists have very few spells and focus powers which deal direct damage.
Energy Ray will probably benefit most from investing in this ability.

Base Focus Power: Energy Ray (Sp): The damage isn't
amazing and the range is dangerously short, but you can do this as often as you like
which makes it pretty useful. This is the blunt hammer of Occultist powers, but when
so many of your problems are nails it's nice to have a hammer handy.

Focus Powers: : There really isn't anything here that
you need to get by.

Energy Blast (Sp): Aside from the ability to change
the energy type, this may actually be worse than fireball, which is on the Occultist
spell list. The DC will scale (fireball won't), and the damage cap is 2d6 higher,
but considering this costs 2 focus to cast, I really don't think that this is a
good option.

Energy Ward (Sp): Situational by design. Resistance
to energy damage is a great option to have on hand, but with a rounds per level
duration you're better off learning to cast Resist Energy. Totally redundant with
Energy Shield and not nearly as good.

Light Matrix (Sp): Magic light is really easy to
get, and the blinding component's duration is pointlessly short. The most useful
part of Light Matrix is that you can create the light hours ahead of time and
direct it to attack using only your move action. Since move actions are generally
only used for silly things like walking about aimlessly during a fight, this leaves
your other actions open for things like killing the thing you just blinded.

Radiance (Sp): The scaling spell level of the
effect means that you will almost always be able to counteract magical darkness.
The on-hit effect also creates a really convenient way to handle invisible creatures,
and the +2 Circumstance bonus to hit the illuminated creature is nice. Unfortunately,
with only a 1d4 round duration you'll need to capitalize on the effects very quickly.

Shape Mastery (Su): Occultists are 2/3 casters, and
with only a handful of AOE evocation spells you just don't have the spell options
to make this worthwhile.

Wall of Power (Sp): The damage isn't great, and it's
not going to stop big high-level creatures, but it's fantastic against multiple
opponents.

Illusion Implements

Most of the illusion implement school is worthless, but there are a few particularly
exiting gems. Distortion is great at any level, and once you hit 9th level Shadow
Beast is absolutely amazing.

Resonant Power: Distortion (Sp): Plenty of spellcasters
go their entire lives without making a single attack, so you could in theory be
permanently distorted/invisible. You can even use this while sleeping!

Base Focus Power: Minor Figment (Sp): Ghost Sound and
Minor Image are both already on the Occultist spell list, and Ghost Sound is the only
illusion cantrip available, so half of Minor Figment is already worthless. The 7th-level
improvement doesn't help much.

Focus Powers: : Aside from Shadow Beast, everything on
the Illusion Implements' list of powers can be replaced with a spell already available
to the Occultist.

Cloak Image (Sp): Situational, and Disguise Self
is on the Occultist spell list.

Color Beam (Sp): With a 1 round duration this isn't
worth the cost even in those rare cases when you're fighting an enemy with less
hit dice than you have class levels.

Masquerade (Sp): Very situational, and Disguise Self
covers most of the reasons why you would want this ability.

Mirage (Sp): Situational, and Major Image is
on the Occultist spell list.

Shadow Beast (Sp): Wow, this one came out of nowhere.
For 1 focus point you can replicate up to a 9th-level summon spell. The disbelief
component is a bit of an issue, but even at 50% damage this is still an amazing
ability.

Unseen (Sp): Distortion is much more useful for you,
and if you need to make allies invisible Invisibility is on the Occultists spell
list.

Necromancy Implements

The Necromany Implement School is good, but not amazing. Very few parts of the
school are absolutely fantastic, but several of the options are certainly worth
considering.

Resonant Power: Necromantic Focus (Su): People who like
undead pets are inhibited by the limited number of hit dice worth of creatures they
can control. Expanding this limit is fantastic. The ability to create additional
undead is a nice added bonus. However, the Occultist is still only a 2/3 caster and
Animate Dead is the only spell on your spell list which benefits from these bonuses.
Either pass this off to a real necromancer, or get real comfortable dragging zombies
around.

Base Focus Power: Mind Fear (Sp): Most enemies will
have more hite dice than you have levels. Shaken is a fine condition since it debuffs
creatures in so many ways, but the duration is pitiful.

Focus Powers: : Several of the necromancy powers are
worthwhile, and Necromantic Servant is easily one of my favorite undead pet mechanics.

Flesh Rot (Sp): A melee touch attack is probably
not something you want to do often, and the damage isn't especially good considering
you need to spend a focus point to use this. However, the ability does typeless
damage which is either amazing or an error.

Necromantic Servant (Sp): This ability is a bit
complicated, but it's also really good. The undead you raise "from the ground"
seems to come out of nowhere, so no messing around with wagons full of corpses.
It's unclear if the creatures use the equipment listed in the bestiary (namely
the skeleton's broken scimitar and rust chain shirt), but I would assume that
they use an unmodified version of the original stat block, and that they likely
don't have any meaningful proficiencies for you to abuse. Check with your GM to
be sure, because handing your skeleton a real scimitar and suit of cheap armor
may be a good idea since you've got enough time to do so.
The 10 minutes/level duration is enough to get through a lot of stuff, especially
if you spend the extra focus to recharge your servant when it dies. Adding templates
adds quite a bit of extra power to your servant, and the ability to split your
servant and use teamwork feats at high levels allows you to do some really
silly things. It seems that you can pick a new teamwork feat every time you create
a new servant, so be sure to check out my
Practical Guide
to Teamwork Feats.

Skeleton: The choice between a human
skeleton and human zombie is largely personal preference. The zombie
is technically a higher CR, especially if you remove the skeleton's
armor, but if you throw items onto your servant, the skeleton may be
better.

Zombie: If your GM makes the skeleton
spawn with none of the gear mentioned in the Bestiary and doesn't give
either any weapon/armor proficiencies, the zombie is almsot certainly
a better option. However, the zombie's Staggered quality can be an
annoying limiting factor when you need a pet that can chase foes around
in an encounter.

Bloody Skeleton: Your servant doesn't
change its effective number of hit dice, so it only gets one point of
fast healing, and the +4 channel resistance won't be enough to fix the
fact that your servant still only has 1 hit die. The bloody skeleton also
doesn't add any offensive options, so it's not meaningfull better than
the basic skeleton most of the time.

Burning Skeleton: Easily the best option,
if only for the guaranteed damage from Fiery Aura. When you get the ability
to split your servants, each split generates another source of guaranteed
ongoing damage. Bury encounters in piles of burning skeletons and laugh
gleefully from the other side of the room as you burn through everything
in your path.

Fast Zombie: Though not as lethal as the
burning skeleton's guaranteed fire damage, the fast zombie is a good
fallback against foes which are immune to fire or which deal cold damage.
The fast zombie double's the base damage of the normal zombie, and removes
the Staggered issue, allowing the zombie to move and attack better.

Pain Wave (Sp): Sickened is a really good debuff,
on par with Shaken. Use this ability to weaken enemies' saves before you hit them
with something more lethal the following round. Even if the effect only lasts one
round, you still get to take advantage of their -2 penalty to saving throws.

Psychic Curse (Sp): Too situational and unpredictable.

Soulbound Puppet (Su): Familiars can be very powerful
if you choose a good familiar, and the ability to switch familiars easily certainly
offers some options. Be sure to read my
Practical Guide to
Familiars for help selecting a few favorite options.

Spirit Shroud (Su): Temporary hit points are always
nice, but you may get more effect out of Warding Talisman and Mind Barrier.

Transmutation Implements

Several great options, especially if you have avid weapon users in the party.

Resonant Power: Physical Enhancement (Su): If you don't
plan to go into melee, put this on one of your party members. It's especially useful at low
and middle levels before your allies can afford belts which improve two or three ability
scores. Or if you don't need to do so you can always boost your Dexterity or Constitution
to better defend yourself.

Base Focus Power: Legacy Weapon (Su): The fact that the
enhancement bonus stacks with existing enhancement bonuses is amazing, and you get to
swap some of the granted enhancement bonus for special abilities. Use this to add
enhancements which aren't always applicable like energy damage, aligned abilities
like Holy, and situational options like Bane. Many other classes get similar options
(Paladins, Magi, etc.), but generally abilities like Holy cost disproportionaly more
to use than less situational abilities, and Bane is generally just not an option.
This is an important limiting factor on those abilities, and the fact that Occultists
don't have that same limitation is surprising. Note that this ability isn't limited
to a weapon you are holding or which is carrying your focus, so you can grant this
to one or more of your allies if you so choose.

Focus Powers: : Half of the options are too redundant
or situational to justify, but the good options are certainly worth considering.

Mind Over Gravity (Sp): A standard action to gain
flight for one minute isn't great, but flight is still amazingly useful.

Philosopher's Touch (Su): Using this on a single
weapon becomes redundant with Legacy Weapon as you gain the ability to grant
better enhancement bonuses (remember that having a sufficiently high enhancement
bonus can overcome material-based DR), but the ability to apply it to multiple
weapons may be useful in a party with lots of weapon-wielders.

Quickness (Sp): Haste is an amzing buff, but it's
already on the Occultist spell list. and Quickness only affects one creature, and
Haste affects multiple.

Size Alteration (Sp): Changing a creatures size can
be a minor buff/debuff but the duration is too short ot be meaningful on allies
and if you're going in for a melee touch attack you should be doing something
more impressive than this.